An Act of Courage

Being responsible means taking action. Helping yourself, helping others and helping communities at large is a choice. But making that first step to be responsible is not always easy. In fact, sometimes it is incredibly difficult.

Responsibility is an act of courage.

Taking the initiative to be responsible requires pushing yourself out of your own bubble. It requires you to leave your comfort zone for the sole purpose of helping someone else. Sometimes, the choice to do so is simple. You see a pregnant woman on the train and offer your seat. You see someone struggling with many bags and you open the door.

These small acts of kindness are essential to creating a responsible society. But there are other, different types of responsibility that we need to partake in as well — actions that require a little more courage and choice.

Think back to being a kid on the playground. You are minding your own business, dangling from the monkey bars, when you notice another child bullying a classmate. The easiest thing to do would be to ignore the incident and keep playing. The responsible thing to do, however, would be to stand up to the bully. Doing so would be a tremendous show of bravery. It would be scary, but it would be a powerful act of responsibility.

This elementary school moment is a clear way to understand the courage require for responsibility, but that does not mean we are not faced with these situations in every day life as adults. Bullying still occurs in different capacities and forms in the workplace, on the street, in the social circles.

And it doesn’t stop at bullying. What about stepping in to help out a community after a disaster? Reporting to the scene of a disaster or crime can be taxing, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do what we can to help.

Sometimes responsibility means inserting yourself into situations in order to do good. Even if it is a difficult decision, it is important to find the courage within yourself to take on the responsibilities that you can. The hardest actions can be the most rewarding.

Find the courage in yourself to act responsibly every day, from the smallest to the biggest acts.